A Strange Companion

By: Lisa Manterfield

Narrated by: Lisa Manterfield

Kat Richardson isn’t running away from grief; she’s just hiding out in a gloomy Welsh university town until she’s sure it’s gone. Now, one year, nine months, and 27 days after the climbing death of her first love, Gabe, she thinks she’s ready to venture out into the relationship world again. And Owen - a cake-baking, Super Ball-making chemistry student - appears to be a kind, funny, and very attractive option.

But the arrival of Kat’s newly adopted niece, Mai, forces her home to northern England, where she runs headfirst into all the memories of Gabe she’s tried to leave behind - and discovers that Mai stirs up an unnerving feeling of déjà vu. Before long, Kat’s logical, scientific beliefs about life after death are in battle with what she feels to be true - that reincarnation is real and Gabe has come back to her through Mai. The question now is why?

Taking on the topics of love, loss, and how we deal with grief, A Strange Companion is a twisted love triangle among the living, the dead, and the reincarnated.

©2017 Lisa Manterfield (P)2021 Lisa Manterfield

Critic reviews

"This bittersweet debut about learning how to live after loved ones are gone will captivate readers." (Publishers Weekly BookLife)